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Did You Know:
Annual Directors Meeting
ACBS International Boat Show
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eNews
September, 2012 

Greetings!   

 

By now most of you have received the latest issuissue1_2012_BBcvre of The Brass Bell. It began showing up in mail boxes on September 20 according to posts on Boat Buzz. It may take a little longer to reach some of you, especially our non U.S. members.  

 

In case you haven't noticed, the bound edge doesn't make note of the season and reads:

2012 Issue 1   THE BRASS BELL  

VOLUME XXXVIII NUMBER 1  

This change, although insignificant for most of us, is in preparation for changing our dues structure from a Subscription basis to a true Membership with benefits structure. The Brass Bell quarterly publication is indeed one of many of the great benefits that our members enjoy. Our Website is filled with all of the other useful benefits that help us share information about our Chris-Craft boats and help create camaraderie. 

 

Next year marks our 40th Anniversary as an organized club representing Chris-Craft owners and enthusiasts. However, The Brass Bell publication began a year later. The first issue was published in late 1974. Although we are in our 39th year, the publication is only in its 38th year (XXXVIII) of existence.

 

The Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club has established financial stability moving forward. Bill Baldwin reports that the next Brass Bell is well under way and that it may very likely be even better than the last, with fabulous content and informative articles. We are doing everything we can do to begin the new year with "on-time" Brass Bells and continue a tight schedule for publication within an established budget. More on this in the October eNews.

 

Sincerely,

Board of Directors - Don Ayers, Paul Harrison, Don Vogt, Al Benton
Did You Know               
By Al Benton 

A.W. MacKerer, fondly referred to as "Mr. Chris-Craft," worked for the Purdy Boat Co., Inc. prior to being hired by Christopher Smith. He was engaged to Nellie Purdy, co-owner Gil Purdy's daughter at the time. They were married later that year. Why did he leave his future father-in-law's business?

 

Young Mr. MacKerer began his carrier in the boat building industry in 1913 as an apprentice for Ruddock Yacht & Boat Works of New York City. He gained additional experience at Hacker and Matthews, among others, before moving on to Purdy in 1921 in Trenton, MI. There he met Nellie Purdy, co-owner Gil Purdy's daughter, and fell in love.

 

Gill and his brother Ned were custom boat builders of cruisers and race boats for wealthy New Yorkers. MacKerer wanted them to expand into builders of a standard production line of boats but the brothers were not interested. The ensuing discussion of the subject ended with Bill MacKerer looking for a job.

  First Bldg

The timing was impeccable, as Chris Smith and his sons were  about to embark into a business that fit MacKerer's ambitions perfectly. Smith hired him on a trial basis in March, 1922, only a month after beginning Chris Smith & Sons Boat Co, Inc. The rest is history.

  

So why did MacKerer leave Purdy in the midst of becoming family? All indications suggest that he was fired!

  

Now You Know    

Annual Directors Meeting
Summarized by Al Benton
 

The Board of Directors of The Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club conducted its first Annual Directors Meeting in conjunction with the Antique & Classic Boat Society, Inc. Annual Meeting and International Boat Show held at Big Cedar Lodge on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri on September 22, 2012.

  

The proposed Club By-Laws that are currently being reviewed by the Board will require a Nominating Committee to be chaired by a Past President of the Club, once they are adopted. In order to comply with their requirements, Don Ayers appointed Past President Terry Fiest to head this committee. Paul Harrison, Don Vogt and Al Benton will also serve on the committee. Terry was invited to meet with us prior to the board meeting to discuss the process for selecting a slate of qualified candidates for election of Directors. If you are interested in serving the Club as a Director, or in any other capacity, please let us know very soon. The committee will meet soon to finalize a slate of candidates.

 

Please note that Saturday, September 22 was Terry & Bobbie Fiest's 50th wedding anniversary. What dedication for taking time to meet with us on this very special day!!!

 

Matt Byrne also had a very busy day Saturday, beginning with an early morning photo shoot of Miss Lisa just minutes prior to being judged. He also sat in with us prior to the board meeting to discuss future website and software needs and to answer questions relating to our present Membership Database. He was called out of our meeting by the judging committee to review Miss Lisa a second time. Well, as many of you know, Miss Lisa, a stunning 1939, 19-foot Gar Wood Runabout, won Best of Show Restored later that evening. A huge Congratulations to Matt & Lisa Byrne and a big thank you for all of his time and effort in maintaining our Club website and electronic files.

  

Once the Directors Meeting began, the first order of business was to move, second and unanimously pass a motion to appoint Jim Frechette as our 5th Director. See his very impressive bio in this issue. Jim will bring a huge level of expertise to the current Board of Directors. We look forward to working with Jim. Jim's initial duties will be to serve as our official Club Ambassador at shows and events and to create new methods to promote the Club globally.

 

Meet Director Jim Frechette

My early years of boating began in the mid-fifties when my family was fortunate to have a cottage on a small lake in New Hampshire. We first had a small fishing boat with a Johnson 5.5 HP outboard but then upsized to a Feathercraft runabout with an Evinrude 35. This was the family ski-boat and with a few engine upgrades lasted until I moved away to Texas in the late 70's. My first wooden boat of my own was a 1956 Chris Craft Holiday I bought in 1982 to cruise Lake Travis in Austin, TX. I was looking forward to restoring it but it was so nice I looked for another boat to restore. I did a 1959 Century Coronado and word leaked out that I could restore boats. That was the start. I began restoring to take up the slack from my other job as a a musician. It actually worked out well as it gave me something profitable to do during the day when the music gigs were  few and far between. I have been restoring  ever since on a smaller scale than most other shops. I have had a few employees over the years but mostly preferred to work by myself.

 

I organized the first Austin Wooden Boat Show in 1983 where we had seven boats, two of which were mine, and will be celebrating our 30th show this October. I love to cruise and have gone on the Tennessee River Cruise four times as well as the St Johns River in Florida. We also have had many cruises on Table Rock Lake and Bull Shoals in Missouri and Grand Lake in Oklahoma.

 

I am a past president of the Southwest Chapter and at various times have been a member of the Sunnyland, Dixieland and Heartland Classics chapters of the ACBS. My current Chris-Craft boats include a 1930 Model 100, a 1940 Red and White, a 1942 18-foot Deluxe Runabout, a 1946 25-foot Sportsman, and a 1959 24-foot Sportsman project.

 
Also see Jim's Member Profile in The Brass Bell, Winter 2008 and his amazing 1940, 25-foot Chris-Craft, Old Paint on the cover of The Brass Bell, Winter 2011.

ACBS Annual Meeting & International Boat Show

The Antique & Classic Boat Society, Inc. (ACBS) Annual Meeting & International Boat Show was very well represented by members of The Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club with many stunning examples of Chris-Craft boats of all styles and sizes.

 

Dick Werner did an outstanding job of organizing several very interesting and well attended Symposiums on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday morning, Club Member, Author, Historian Tony Mollica along with Chris Smith (Grandson of Chris-Craft Founder) presented "The History and Development of the World's Largest Producer of Wooden Boats - CHRIS-CRAFT."

 

Tony & Chris stayed around for a panel discussion of Chris-Craft, the Manufacturer and the Club. The Panel consisted of: Chris Smith, Tony Mollica, Terry Fiest and Don Ayers.

 

Following the Panel Discussion, Don Ayers, our President, presented a brief update on the Club status & health and answered question. 

 

Chris-Crafts Were Out In Force

Down on the docks was an amazing collection of fabulous boats of which almost one-third  were Chris-Craft. The largest was a 1969, 41-foot Constellation Sedan named Nickl IV owned by Nick & Gudrun Weinsaft of Branson, MO. Other amazing Chris-Craft cruisers were trailered to the lake. Bob & Chris Ann (Smith) Braff brought

Table Rock Lake 085
James Tobin's Cavalier Crusader

Chris' Craft II, a 1957, 28-foot Sedan Cruiser from Colorado. James Tobin and first mate, Alice Lockhart brought Sarah Catherine,their 1967, 30-foot Cavalier Crusader from the Mississippi River near St. Louis, MO. Chris Smith and daughter Joy were present with Odyssea, his 1961, 27-foot Sea Skiff from Holland, MI. Paul Anderson and First Mate Barbara Callison travelled from Los Altos, CA with Klondike, their 1938, 25-foot Clipper which won Restored Antique Cruiser at the awards ceremony Saturday evening.

 

Other Chris-Craft winners were as follows:

Restored Classic Runabout - Lee Hunt's 1955, 21-foot Capri Partners Choice 

Preserved Classic Utility - Dale Sirois' 1964, 20-foot Super Sport Changing Course

Restored Classic Utility - Michael Beachner's 1964, 20-foot Super Sport Liberty Bell

Preserved Antique Runabout - Jack Beatley's 1927, 22-foot Cadet Chief Waramoug

Antique Chris-Craft - Kirk Smith's 1940, 22-foot Deluxe Utility Dream On

Classic Chris-Craft - Mary Ann Ohnheiser's 1967, 20-foot Super Sport Time Machine

Most Original Boat - Rafe Hunsucker's 1960,17-foot Cavalier Irish Mist

Mahogany Bay Award - Clay Thompson's 1949, 25-foot Sportsman Summertime (featured in the Fall 2011 Brass Bell.

 

Amazing Pre-Show Activities

Table Rock Lake 009

Prior to the ACBS International Show the Heartland Classics Chapter hosted an amazing week of events with no less than four wonderful cruises on beautiful Table Rock Lake.

 

The schedule included plenty of time to take in the sights and sounds of Branson and/or enjoy some of the delightful amenities at Big Cedar Lodge.

 

There was fantastic dinner cruise on the Showboat Branson Belle and an enlightening visit to The Titanic Museum in Branson.

Table Rock Lake 060
  Titanic Museum
Heartland Classics Chapter was an amazing host. The Mississippi Valley Chapter provided many volunteers to help with the many jobs needed at such an event.

Thanks to both of these ACBS Chapters for a great week of boating on Table Rock Lake.